Union Group (AFL-CIO) Critical of Anti-Terror Plan

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Associated Press

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The AFL-CIO complained Thursday that a government anti-terrorist screening program might be obtaining and keeping records of whether international travelers are union members.

"Even the suggestion that union membership is somehow indicative of a threat to security is offensive to the millions of workers we are proud to represent," AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney and Edward Wytkind, president of the labor federation's transportation trades department wrote. They sent a letter of complaint to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke responded that "it borders on the offensive to suggest that we have any interest in union membership. We don't." Knocke said the department had installed software that automatically screened out indications of union membership and other sensitive personal information from the data it obtains for all passengers arriving in or leaving the United States on international flights or cruises.

Sweeney and Wytkind said they understood that Homeland Security was not specifically requesting information about union membership. But they added: "We are extremely troubled by an international agreement that would anticipate the transfer of this data into the department's data base."

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j4WZjDJLMmE8aSvsynDpsqlDJPZwD8S7B4AG0

[Proletariatprincess]

1. OMG..they are coming for the union members.

Always hostile to the Labor Movement, now they will single us out individually for persecution. This scares me more than any other single thing they have done so far. The Republic is really over. It is time to immigrate before they start rounding us up and putting us in the detention camps that Halliburton is building in Arizona.

[blackspade]

2. Maybe a respectful reply

to a legit concern would be in order rather than a snarky hyperbole laden answer like this:

Homeland Security Department spokesman Russ Knocke responded that "it borders on the offensive to suggest that we have any interest in union membership. We don't."

How is it 'offensive' to question what our government is doing?
This idiot needs to find another job if he thinks that.